Compagnie de Navigation Sud-Atlantique

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Compagnie de Navigation Sud-Atlantique was a French shipping company focused on routes between Europe and South America. It began in 1912 after the government shifted rights from Societe d'Etudes de Navigation to the new company. The contract, signed on 11 July 1911 for 25 years starting 22 July 1912, provided a subsidised postal service with round trips every two weeks between Bordeaux, Lisbon, Dakar, Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo and Buenos Aires, plus a non-subsidised commercial service with monthly voyages between Bordeaux, Dakar, Pernambuco, Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Montevideo and Buenos Aires by ships of at least 4,000 tons and an average speed of 11 knots.

The company started with a capital of 15 million francs. As a condition for the subsidy, it had to build in France four passenger liners of at least 11,000 tonnes, able to maintain 15 knots on Bordeaux–Lisbon and 18 knots on Lisbon–Buenos Aires, and provide six passenger freighters. Lutetia and Gallia were built in 1913, and Massilia was launched in 1914 but completed in 1920. A fourth ship was never built. To begin service quickly, some older ships were used temporarily, including Avondale Castle, La Bretagne and La Gascogne, and the Kaiser Friedrich was acquired and renamed Burdigala, though it proved less useful.

Ships were painted white, and many carried Latin names (Lutetia = Paris, Massilia = Marseille, Gallia = Gaul, Burdigala = Bordeaux). World War I disrupted plans; Gallia and Burdigala were lost on troop duties. Massilia joined Lutetia after the war. A major addition, L’Atlantique, arrived in 1930 but was destroyed by fire in 1933 and scrapped. Pasteur was added in 1939.

Massilia became notable for carrying refugees in 1939–1940, including Spanish Republicans fleeing Europe and later Vichy officials escaping France. The company’s control changed hands: CGT took it in 1914, then Compagnie Maritime des Chargeurs Réunis in 1916, and in 1928 Chargeurs Réunis took over the intermediate service. In 1962 the Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes took over the South American service, leaving only three passenger ships: Laennec (built in 1951), Louis Lumière and Charles Tellier. The Sud-Atlantique name ended, though Messageries Maritimes continued operating the vessels on the South American route until 1966, when Pasteur took over.